Emails released this week by WikiLeaks showed a push by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's campaign to raise money for his re-election from Sony Pictures and other Hollywood executives.

The emails drew criticism because New York offers the most generous film-tax breaks in the nation, and Cuomo reportedly took in $900,000 from Hollywood for his political campaign since taking office in 2011.

In one email dated Jan. 6, 2014, a Sony executive urged CEO Michael Lynton to have the company raise $50,000 by July for Cuomo's re-election bid.

"$50k is a heavy lift since most of it needs to come from individual contributions (only $5k can come from corp.), but I recommend we do it," the email from Keith Weaver, who heads Sony's Worldwide Government Affairs division, states.

"Cuomo has been a strong protector of the film incentive – even amidst recent criticisms of the program," the email continued. "Also, given the shows we've got there and your relationships I think it would look a bit odd if you weren't on the host committee."

Cuomo has faced criticism for the film-tax credit program, which provides $420 million a year to the production of movies and television shows. It's one of the state's largest tax-break programs.

The Democratic governor took in $900,000 from Hollywood executives since taking office, Bloomberg News reported, and he flew to California twice to attend fundraisers held on his behalf. The one in January 2014 was an up to $25,000 per-person affair and it raised $300,000.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo.(Photo: File photo)

Assemblyman Kieran Michael Lalor, R-Fishkill, Dutchess County, has been critical of the program and blasted the contents of the Sony emails.

"We know Cuomo is using the tax subsidies to curry favor among influential donors," Lalor said in a statement. "Why do we keep a tax subsidy when the only winners are Governor Cuomo and his friends in Hollywood?"

Cuomo's campaign declined comment.

Sony put out a statement Thursday after the release of the latest batch of internal emails, saying, "The cyber-attack on Sony Pictures was a malicious criminal act, and we strongly condemn the indexing of stolen employee and other private and privileged information on WikiLeaks."

Cuomo has credited the film-tax credits as a way to lure new jobs and investment into the state.

"The Film Tax Credit program was responsible for more than 60,000 jobs and $9.8 billion in spending over the last two years alone," said Jason Conwall, a spokesman for Empire State Development, which manages the program. "This program has been working as intended — to draw more film production to New York along with the jobs and economic activity that go with it."

Sony Pictures, meanwhile, produced Spider-Man 2 — the largest film production in New York's history — with $150 million spent in the state, including some filming in downtown Rochester in 2013. The movie is eligible for a tax break that's as much as 30 percent of production costs — which could mean up to $45 million in credits for Sony and its affiliates.

Overall, Sony had received nearly $48 million in tax breaks in 2011 and 2012, a Gannett review found, the fifth most of any studio.

Cuomo won a second term last November over Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino. Cuomo has been one of the most prodigious fundraisers in the country, raising $40 million during his first term in office.

In another email July 6, Cuomo fundraiser Stephanie Berger asked for help from Andrew Farkas, a New York City investor and Cuomo's friend and former employer, to get campaign contributions from Sony officials. The campaign deadline was July 11.

"They are saying it will be here but it seems to be too loose for our comfort," Berger's email said. "Would you mind a quick call or email confirming that we need it by July 11th?"

Farkas responded with an email to Lynton: "How would you like me to handle. I can tell them to forget it if the circumstances over there so dictate. No worries."

In another exchange, Farkas sought from Sony a way for Cuomo to get on a private airplane on his trip back from the California fundraiser in January — which would have been labeled as an "in-kind contribution" on Cuomo's campaign filings. It was unclear how the trip was ultimately funded.

Also, just weeks before the California trip last year, Weaver wrote to an official at Empire State Development asking about the status of some tax credits.

"I need your help, as we need to resolve a number of pending production tax credits by 1/15/14 in order to realize the benefit this year," Weaver wrote to Rhoda Glickman, who heads the agency's film development.

"Our tax and production finance folks were steadfastly working the process, but now we have approximately $26M in tax credits outstanding… We most assuredly can't leave $26M hanging out there for another full year," the email continued.

Three days later, Weaver wrote an internal email that said the matter was resolved and that the $26 million would be expedited.

"I just wrapped up a call (where) some commitments were made," Weaver wrote. "While this a timing issue, our effectiveness will mean realizing a significant cash benefit in 2014 versus the next likely opportunity in 2017."

Conwall said there was no special treatment given.

"The credits in question, which were for already completed productions that had spent tens of millions of dollars in the state, were not fast-tracked," Conwall said. "They were processed and paid out once mandatory auditing and verifications were completed on a schedule that was in line with every other application."